Warnock Proves Road Safety Is Not Always Expensive

From a Press Release (but still pretty cool):

A phone call from Transportation Commission candidate Rudy Warnock to Jackson Public School district transportation officials quite possibly saved the lives of many children.

Warnock alerted the school district to an unsafe Hinds County bridge at Cynthia Road just inside the Clinton city limits. Although the information is listed on the Mississippi Department of Transportation Web site, appropriate measures should have been taken, such as, contacting JPS and posted weight limit signs.

“I knew the Director would like to be informed of this, so I picked up my phone and called to see if school kids are being carried over that bridge. Sure enough, a school bus uses that bridge everyday. When the Director found out about the bridge, he was as concerned as I was and said buses would be rerouted.”

“All it took was a phone call to make sure our children aren’t traveling on this unsafe bridge,” Warnock said. “Why hasn’t our district commissioner made sure our schools have this information? A phone call is the cheapest way I know to save lives.”

Warnock talked about bridge safety at a news conference today on a bridge at Cynthia Road. The bridge is one of over 4000 in Mississippi that are potentially unsafe to use.

Bridge safety has taken center stage nationwide since the Interstate 35 bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minn., collapsed during rush hour on Aug. 1, killing 13 people and injuring about 100.

“MDOT has a wealth of information that can make a difference in the safety of our children and anyone else traveling our state,” Warnock said. “Putting this information to use is an inexpensive way to make our roads safer.”

Warnock, a Madison County native and a Professional Engineer, is running for the Central District Transportation Commission post. Warnock meets incumbent Dick Hall in the November general election. The Central District Transportation Commissioner is one of three commissioners who are elected by voters in single-member districts and who oversee and set policy for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

“When I’m elected, this is exactly the kind of thing I’m going to do and that I will direct MDOT staff to do. Can you think of a more effective or less expensive way to protect Mississippi lives than picking up the phone?”

School busses shouldn't be going over possibly unsafe bridges for another reason. Their weight and size can't help but further deteriorate the structures.